AMD seems to believe that consumers are taking advantage of record-low memory prices and would like to help them put that RAM to good use. The semiconductor company has partnered with Dataram to create a branded RAMDisk software that can allocate chunks of system memory to be used as temporary storage.
A free trial of what AMD is calling Radeon RAMDisk is available for anyone to try out. With the free version, users can allocate up to 4GB of system memory into what Windows believes is usable storage. Those running Radeon-branded modules can increase the limit up to 6GB.
If that isn't enough, there's the option to purchase Radeon RAMDisk Xtreme for just $19. The full version allows users to create a RAM disk up to 64GB in size regardless of module brand.
The main reason to use a RAM disk is speed. Users can access it at maximum bandwidth at any time without fear of mechanical failure, fragmentation, overheating, noise or vibrations - concerns that are present with a traditional hard drive.
RAM disks are useful in a number of different scenarios. Users can allocate RAM as cache for web browsers to speed up surfing, decrease CD duplication times or help load games more quickly. The software is additionally useful when creating a Photoshop scratch disk or when editing audio and video files.
Just remember that RAM is volatile and requires a steady supply of power to store data. A loss of power or a simple reboot will erase the RAM disk contents unless you enable the automatic imaging system built into the Radeon RAMDisk software. Download here.